Ornament With Attachable Decorative Elements

ABSTRACT

An ornament for a person comprises: an attachment body having an at least partially closed loop shape and including first and second side wall portions; a guide rail formed of an elongated member, the guide rail including a first end pivotally fixed to or extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in a direction inwardly to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, a second end, and a parallel rail portion extending between the first and second ends of the guide rail; and an decorative element having first and second lateral sides, and including a guide hole formed through the first and second lateral sides, the guide hole configured to insert the second end of the guide rail there-through and having a width the same as or slightly wider than the size of the parallel rail portion of the guide rail to enable a sliding movement of the decorative element along the guide rail. The second end of the guide rail is displaceable or deformable outwardly from the attachment body to enable said insertion of the decorative element through the guide hole of the decorative element, and is returnable or recoverable to an original position to prevent the inserted decorative element from missing out of the guide rail as its movement is restricted by the first and second side wall portions of the attachment body.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to an ornament or jewelry to be worn on a person's body, and more particularly to an ornament, for example, such as earrings and necklaces, having decorative elements detachably attachable to the ornament.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Personal or body-worn ornaments, such as earrings, necklaces, bracelets, are typically formed to have a frame member, such as a ring or sleeve, and decorative elements attached or affixed to the frame member.

For example, an earring or necklace is typically shaped to include a ring or loop type member adapted to be worn onto a person's body (such as an ear and neck), and an ornamental element, such as gem or precious metallic material, securely affixed to the ring or loop type member. However, the configurations of most earrings and necklaces are generally limited to one particular design of the specific piece of ornament. Moreover, it is generally not practical to have a sign or image of preference affixed onto the piece of ornament due to its limitation in configuration.

Accordingly, there exists a need to provide enhanced flexibility or adjustability to the design of the ornaments, while maintaining ornamental or adorning characteristics of the jewelry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, in consideration to handle and overcome aforementioned and other shortcomings of the prior art ornaments, the present invention is directed to provide a novel design of a personal ornament, jewelry, or decorative device which can allow attachment of decorative or ornamental elements to the body of the ornament, for example, such as an earring and necklace.

The present invention is also directed to an ornament with ornamental or decorative elements detachably attached by selection of a wearer, and also to an ornament kit containing multiple decorative or ornamental elements to facilitate the user's selection thereof.

According to one aspect of the invention, the ornament wearable onto a person comprises: an attachment body having at least partially or substantially closed loop shape and including first and second side wall portions; a guide rail formed of an elongated member, the guide rail including a first end pivotally fixed to or extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in a direction inwardly to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, a second end, and a parallel rail portion extending between the first and second ends of the guide rail; and an decorative element having first and second lateral sides, and including a guide hole formed through the first and second lateral sides, the guide hole configured to insert the second end of the guide rail there-through and having a width the same as or slightly wider than the size of the parallel rail portion of the guide rail to enable a sliding movement of the decorative element along the guide rail. The second end of the guide rail is displaceable or deformable outwardly from the attachment body to enable said insertion of the decorative element through the guide hole of the decorative element, and is returnable or recoverable to an original position to prevent the inserted decorative element from missing out of the guide rail as its movement is restricted by the first and second side wall portions of the attachment body.

According to one preferred embodiment, the attachment body and the guide rail are formed unitarily in one piece, and the guide rail is extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in said inward direction to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by deformation of the guide rail. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the attachment body and the guide rail are formed in separate pieces, and the first end of the guide rail is pivotally fixed to the first side wall portion of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by pivoting the guide rail.

According to one preferred embodiment, the ornament is a necklace configured to be worn by a person's neck. According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the ornament is an earring configured to be worn by a person's ear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of the necklace without attaching the decorative elements, constructed according to one preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2(A) and 2(B) are front perspective views illustrating the necklace of FIG. 1 with selected decorative elements attached thereto;

FIG. 3 is front elevation view of one exemplary ornament kit, constructed according to one preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is a front view of the earring illustrating a state before the guide rail is installed to the frame or sleeve member, constructed according to another preferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a front perspective view of the earring of FIG. 4 illustrating a state after the guide rail is installed to the frame member and the selected decorative elements are attached to the guide rail of the earring; and

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the earring with one decorative element attached and showing the ear fixing screw detached, constructed according to an alternative embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings, personal ornaments of the invention, in particular earrings and necklaces, are described and illustrated herein according to the principles of the invention. Even though the present invention is particularly described in connection with preferable or exemplary embodiments of the invention, it is not limited thereto and may be applied to other types of ornaments such as bracelets and/or personal decorative articles.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, an exemplary embodiment of the necklace of the present invention is depicted herein as one way of example for illustrating the principles of the invention.

The necklace 100 includes, a string, chain or loop member 102 configured to be worn by a neck (not shown) of a person, and an attachment body or ring 110 coupled to the string 102, typically via a ringlet 112 connected to the attachment body 110 and shaped to receive and hold the string or chain 102 therein. The attachment body 110 is formed with an elongated member, such as wire and solid bar, made of elastic or non-elastic materials, and has an appealing appearance to function well as a personal ornament or jewelry. More preferably, the attachment body 110 is formed with material having a spring property to a certain degree, and is deformable but preferably recovering its original shape when released after distortion. Possible candidate for the material of the attachment body 110 includes steel, stainless steel, high carbon spring wire, music wire, alloy steel wire, non-ferrous alloy wire, titanium, and other alloy materials, preferably having spring properties to some extent. However, materials deformable without having elastic properties can also be used. The attachment body 110 includes an outer circumference portion 114 of generally rectangular, polygonal, oval, circular, or other substantially closed loop shape, and an inner portion 116 extending laterally or transversely into the substantially closed loop of the outer circumference portion 114. The outer circumference portion 114 and inner portion 116 are preferably disposed in a same plane when they are not subject to deformation in a lateral direction for installation of decorative elements 140 (to be described below in detail) thereto. In order to appeal as a fine jewelry, the attachment body 110 can be plated or coated with precious materials or the like, such as gold, silver, platinum, brass, chrome, nickel plating, and the like. The decorative elements 140 can be also plated or coated with similar precious materials or the like in the same or different colors. Otherwise, the decorative elements 140 and attachment body 110 can be made of precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, or alloys thereof.

FIG. 1 illustrates one exemplary shape of the attachment body 110, which includes a first end 118 and a second end 120, and has a generally rectangular outer circumference. However, other circumference shapes can be also applicable as long as it has a substantially closed loop shape, with the inner portion 116 extending transversely in the substantially closed loop. The inner portion 116 extends preferably in a horizontal or transverse direction from the second end 120 of the outer circumference portion 114 towards the opposite side 122 of the outer circumference portion 114, and is bent backwards in the horizontal direction, thereby, defining a bent tip 124 at the proximity of the lateral side 122, a free end 126 at the proximity of the second end side 120, and a parallel wire portion 128 there-between. The parallel wire portion 128 of the inner portion 116 is configured to slidably fit in a guide groove or hole 130 formed horizontally through the side wall portion of each decorative element 140 for slidably attaching the decorative elements 140 of wearer's selection, for example, such as wearer's or another's name, its favorite symbols or messages, or the like. The guide hole 130 of the decorative element 140 has a groove width “W” (see FIG. 3) slightly larger than the width of two parallel wire portions 128 for facilitating insertion and sliding movement there-though. Small gaps 132 and 134 are formed between the distal end of the first end 118 and the bent portion 120 of the inner ring portion 116, and between the tip 124 and the side 122. The size of the gaps 132 and 134 is preferably smaller than the width of the decorative elements 140 to prevent the installed decorative elements 140 from derailing and missing from the inner ring portion 116.

It is particularly noted that the parallel guide rail or parallel wire portion as used in this application is intended to refer to a rail or wire portion(s) having two opposing rails or wire portions disposed in a parallel and/or substantially parallel relation to each other. Thus, the parallel rail portion 128 is meant to include not only the opposing rail portions disposed in exactly parallel relation to each other, but also in a generally parallel relation with each other as long as the rail portions are intended to function as a guide rail member for guiding the decorative elements 140 along the guide rail member.

In order to install the decorative elements 140 of choice, the user first bends and pulls the tip 124 (which is normally in alignment with the lateral side 122) of the inner ring member 116 outwardly and inserts selected decorative elements 140 one after another with its guide hole 130 aligned to the tip 124 of the inner ring member 116. Because the attachment body or ring 110 is made of deformable material (preferably of material having elastic property to some extent), the inner ring portion 116 can be easily bent for installation and return to its original shape after all elements 140 are installed. FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) illustrate certain examples of the necklace of the invention, with the selected elements 140 installed to the inner guide rails 116. The user can select any characters, symbols, or pictorial elements of its choice. Once the decorative elements 140 are installed, they are retained in the parallel guide rails 116 and refrained from missing due to the side restrictions of the outer circumference portion 114 of generally closed loop shape, such as rectangular, circular, or other loop shapes. Moreover, because the inner extension portion 116 (and also the outer circumference portion 114) is formed preferably with solid bar-like member of small thickness, it hides inside the decorative elements 140, and does not significantly affect the precious and appealing appearance of the decorative elements 140 (which is preferably plated or coated with precious metallic materials or the like).

According to one preferable embodiment of the present invention as illustrated in FIG. 3, an ornament kit 150 is provided to facilitate and enable the user's selection from a wide variety of decorative elements, for example, such as numerals, letters and characters (preferably with various font types and sizes), signs, symbols (for example, such as heart and star symbols), and various drawing or pictorial elements. The ornament kit 150 (i.e., decorative elements 140) can be provided in an envelope, bag or pouch, or by other known manners for providing such letters, characters, and symbols to the user. For example, a guide bar 142 can be provided, which has a dimension suitable to insert into the guide hole 130 of the decorative element s140 in order to facilitate sorting and arranging the decorative elements 140 in a logical or convenient manner. Thus, with the aid of the ornament kit 150, the user can select desirable decorative elements and complete the decoration of the ornament (such as the necklace 100 or earring 200) or display symbols or messages of its choice.

With reference to FIGS. 4-5, another exemplary embodiment of the present invention is described herein, in particular, as a way of example to apply the invention to an earring.

The earring 200 includes an attachment body or sleeve 210, which has a generally circular outer circumference of appealing shape. However, the attachment body or sleeve 210 can have other circumference shape as long as it has a partially or substantially closed loop shape with side wall portions 212 and 214 defined therein. The attachment body 210 preferably includes a first free end 216 and a second free end 218, to which a hinge 220 and a hook 222 (such as U-shaped elastic fingers or catcher) is installed, respectively. A pin 224 is pivotally fixed to the hinge 220 with a free end configured to detachably couple with an upper end of the hook 222. The pin 224 is adapted to insert into a pierced hole of a wearer's ear or an attached accessory thereof for hanging the earring 220. A guide rail 240 is installed between the side wall portions 212 and 214 by an attachment method known in the art. In this embodiment, the guide rail 240 is formed with a bar or wire-like member and extends straightly and bent backwards to define a tip portion 242, free end portions 246 adapted to pivotally fix to the side wall portion 212, and a parallel guide bar portion 244 between the tip portion 242 and the free ends 246. The free end portions 246 include bent leg portions 248 to pivotally fix into fixation holes 226 of the side wall portion 212. The distal tip 242 of the guide rail 240 is detachably affixed to a catch or hook member 228 with a structure known in the ornament industry. For one example, the catch member 228 can be a vertically extending groove or hole formed at an inner surface of the side wall 214, configured to receive and hold the tip portion 242 therein. For another example, the catch member 228 can be a U-shaped elastic holder or catcher configured to detachably hold the tip 242.

The guide rail 240 is made of elastic or non-elastic materials. For example, the guide rail 240 can be formed of a metal having a spring property to a certain degree, and is deformable but preferably recovering its original shape when released after distortion. Possible candidate for the material of the attachment body 110 includes steel, stainless steel, high carbon spring wire, music wire, alloy steel wire, non-ferrous alloy wire, titanium, and other alloy materials, preferably having spring properties to some extent. However, materials deformable without having elastic properties can also be used. Alternatively, the decorative elements 140 and attachment body 210 (and maybe the guide rail 240 as well) can be made of precious metals, such as gold, silver, platinum, or alloys thereof to function well as jewelry.

The parallel wire portions 244 of the guide rail 240 are configured to slidably fit in a guide groove or hole 130 which is formed horizontally through the side wall portion of each decorative element 140 for slidably attaching the decorative elements 140 of wearer's selection. The guide hole 130 of the decorative element 140 has a groove width “W” (see FIG. 5) slightly larger than the width of two parallel wire portions 244 for facilitating insertion and sliding movement there-though.

In order to install the decorative elements 140 of choice to the guide rail 240 of the earring, the user holds the parallel guide portions 244 and applies force to detach the affixed tip 242 from the catch member 228 (such as a catching groove), and thereby, rotates outwardly the guide rail 240 about the pivotal legs 248. Then, desired decorative elements 140 are selected from the ornament kit 150 (FIG. 3), and inserted one after another with its guide hole 130 of each decorative element 140 aligned to the tip 242 of the guide rail 240. FIG. 5 illustrates one example of the earring with selected decorative elements 140 attached thereto in a manner explained above. The user can select any characters, symbols, or pictorial elements of its choice. Once the decorative elements 140 are installed, they are retained in the parallel guide rails 244 and refrained from missing due to the side restrictions of the closed outer circumference portions 212 and 214 with the guide rail 244 securely but detachably attached thereto. Moreover, because the guide rail 244 is formed preferably with solid bar-like member of small thickness, it hides inside the decorative elements 140, and does not significantly affect the precious and appealing appearance of the decorative elements 140 which is preferably plated or coated with precious metallic materials or the like as described above.

As stated above, the embodiment as illustrated in FIGS. 4-5 is described in connection with an earring. However, the inventive concept and features can also be applied to other personal ornament such as a necklace. When applying to a necklace, the attachment body or sleeve 210 can be modified to have a closed loop shape (such as a circular ring shape), with its upper portion having a ringlet (such as ringlet 112 as shown in FIG. 1) to receive a necklace string or chain there-through and hang on a person's neck.

FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the earring of the invention, in which the ear fixing screw detached for illustrating purposes. The earring 300 has a structure generally similar to the necklace 100 of FIG. 1, and detailed description to the common elements thereof (denoted with the same reference numerals) is omitted for simplicity and to be referred to the description of FIG. 1. However, in this embodiment, the outer circumference portion 114 a of the attachment body has a generally hexagonal shape instead of the rectangular shape of FIG. 1. However, other shapes (such as circular or oval shapes) can also be applicable as long as it has a partially or substantially closed loop configuration as described above in connection with FIG. 1. Also, instead of ringlet 112, the outer attachment body portion 114 a includes an ear fixing element 112 a with a screw hole 302 for detachably fixing a pin member 310 there-through. The pin member 310 include a fixation element, such as a screw portion 312, at least at the distal end thereof, and a main body portion of the pin 310 is configured to couple with a pierced ear (not shown) or with an attachment element thereof (not shown) to hang the earring onto the wearer's ear.

Moreover, in this embodiment, at least the parallel rail portion 128 of or the entire surface of the guide rail 116 is coated or otherwise covered with resilient materials (for example, such as rubber, silicon, or other resilient plastic materials) or anti-slippery materials 320, preferably covered to a size snuggly fit to the width W of the guide hole 130 of the decorative elements 140, to prevent lateral movement of the decorative elements 140 when they are installed onto the guide rail. In this manner, when one or more decorative elements 140 are installed at an inside area of the parallel rail portion 128, they can maintain their originally installed positions without slipping outwardly. The resilient or anti-slippery materials 320 covering over the guide rail 116 can be transparent materials (such as transparent polymeric material) or colored in a same color with the guide rail 116 in order not to hinder the appealing appearance of the ornament as a whole.

While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described in connection with certain presently preferred embodiments of necklaces and earrings, the invention is not limited thereto and applicable to other types of personal ornaments, jewelry, and personal decorative devices, and is also applicable to other shapes, structures, configurations of the ornaments as long as it meets the concepts and principles of the invention as discussed above or to be recognized there-from. Accordingly, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. The appended claims are intended to cover, therefore, all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. 

1. An ornament for wearing on a person's body, comprising: an attachment body having an at least partially closed loop shape and including first and second side wall portions; a guide rail formed of an elongated member, the guide rail including a first end pivotally fixed to or extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in a direction inwardly to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, a second end, and a parallel rail portion extending between the first and second ends of the guide rail; and an decorative element having first and second lateral sides, and including a guide hole formed through the first and second lateral sides, the guide hole configured to insert the second end of the guide rail there-through and having a width the same as or slightly wider than the size of the parallel rail portion of the guide rail to enable a sliding movement of the decorative element along the guide rail; wherein the second end of the guide rail is displaceable outwardly from the attachment body to enable said insertion of the decorative element through the guide hole of the decorative element, and is returnable or recoverable to an original position to prevent the inserted decorative element from missing out of the guide rail as its movement is restricted by the first and second side wall portions of the attachment body.
 2. The ornament of claim 1, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are formed unitarily in one piece, and the guide rail is extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in said inward direction to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by deformation of the guide rail.
 3. The ornament of claim 2, wherein the second end of the guide rail has a U-shaped tip for facilitating said insertion of the decorative element to the guide rail, and wherein the second side wall portion and the U-shaped tip define a gap there-between which is smaller than the width of the decorative element to prevent it from missing through the gap.
 4. The ornament of claim 2, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are made of a material having a spring-like or elastic property.
 5. The ornament of claim 2, wherein the ornament is a necklace, and the attachment body includes a ringlet for installing a string or loop there-through for hanging on a neck.
 6. The ornament of claim 2, wherein the ornament is an earring, and the attachment body is adapted to install a pin for attaching onto an ear.
 7. The ornament of claim 1, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are formed in separate pieces, and the first end of the guide rail is pivotally fixed to the first side wall portion of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by pivoting the guide rail.
 8. The ornament of claim 7, wherein the second side wall portion of the attachment body include a catcher for detachably holding the second end of the guide rail.
 9. The ornament of claim 7, wherein the second end of the guide rail has a U-shaped tip for facilitating said insertion of the decorative element to the guide rail.
 10. The ornament of claim 7, wherein the ornament is an earring, and the attachment body is adapted to install a pin for attaching onto an ear.
 11. The ornament of claim 1, further comprising an ornament kit having a plurality of decorative elements to facilitate the user to select desirable ones and attach to the guide rail.
 12. The ornament of claim 11, the ornament kit includes elements selected from characters, symbols, and pictorial members.
 13. The ornament of claim 1, wherein the parallel rail portion of the guide rail is covered with resilient material or anti-slippery material to limit lateral movements of the decorative element when it is installed to the guide rail.
 14. A necklace comprising: an attachment body having an at least partially closed loop shape and including first and second side wall portions; a guide rail formed of an elongated member, the guide rail including a first end pivotally fixed to or extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in a direction inwardly to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, a second end, and a parallel or substantially parallel rail portion extending between the first and second ends of the guide rail; and an decorative element having first and second lateral sides, and including a guide hole formed through the first and second lateral sides, the guide hole configured to insert the second end of the guide rail there-through and having a width the same as or slightly wider than the size of the parallel or substantially parallel rail portion of the guide rail to enable a sliding movement of the decorative element along the guide rail; wherein the second end of the guide rail is displaceable or deformable outwardly from the attachment body to enable said insertion of the decorative element through the guide hole of the decorative element, and is returnable or recoverable to an original position after installation of the decorative element; wherein at least one of or both of the attachment body and the guide rail are configured to restrict the inserted decorative element from missing out of the guide rail during usage.
 15. The necklace of claim 14, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are formed unitarily in one piece, and the guide rail is extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in said inward direction to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable or deformable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by deformation of the guide rail.
 16. The necklace of claim 14, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are formed in separate pieces, and the first end of the guide rail is pivotally fixed to the first side wall portion of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable or deformable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by pivoting the guide rail.
 17. An earring comprising: an attachment body having an at least partially closed loop shape and including first and second side wall portions; a guide rail formed of an elongated member, the guide rail including a first end pivotally fixed to or extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in a direction inwardly to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, a second end, and a parallel or substantially parallel rail portion extending between the first and second ends of the guide rail; and an decorative element having first and second lateral sides, and including a guide hole formed through the first and second lateral sides, the guide hole configured to insert the second end of the guide rail there-through and having a width the same as or slightly wider than the size of the parallel or substantially parallel rail portion of the guide rail to enable a sliding movement of the decorative element along the guide rail; wherein the second end of the guide rail is displaceable or deformable outwardly from the attachment body to enable said insertion of the decorative element through the guide hole of the decorative element, and is returnable or recoverable to an original position after installation of the decorative element; wherein at least one of or both of the attachment body and the guide rail are configured to restrict the inserted decorative element from missing out of the guide rail during usage.
 18. The earring of claim 17, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are formed unitarily in one piece, and the guide rail is extending from the first side wall portion of the attachment body in said inward direction to said at least partially closed loop shape of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable or deformable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by deformation of the guide rail.
 19. The earring of claim 17, wherein the attachment body and the guide rail are formed in separate pieces, and the first end of the guide rail is pivotally fixed to the first side wall portion of the attachment body, wherein said outwardly displaceable or deformable movement of the second end of the guide rail is realized by pivoting the guide rail. 